A Trial of Intraoperative Fibrin Sealant on Postoperative Recovery After Total Knee Replacement

Summary

This study is conducted as a pilot trial to assess the added benefit of the VeraSeal fibrin sealant to TXA on postoperative outcomes following TKR. Informed consent is obtained from all participants prior to inclusion in the study. Patients are prospectively recruited from a consecutive series of TKR procedures performed for end-stage osteoarthritis. Recruited patients were randomised into two cohorts: those receiving intra-articular tranexamic acid (TXA) alone, and those receiving intra-articular TXA and VeraSeal fibrin sealant (TXA+Sealant). Randomisation is performed just prior to surgery using a digital random allocation generator by the surgical team. Patients and physiotherapists responsible for outcome data collection are blinded to group allocation throughout the study period. Intraoperative administration of the sealant is performed after prosthetic implantation, which was followed by topical intra-articular TXA. In the TXA group, TXA is applied intraoperatively into the joint capsule prior to closure. In the TXA+Sealant group, VeraSeal was applied evenly onto subcutaneous tissues, synovium and exposed bony surfaces within the joint capsule and allowed to cure. The same dose of topical TXA was infiltrated after VeraSeal had cured, prior to closure. All other pathways were standard per hospital protocols. Preoperatively, demographic data including age, sex, height, and weight, as well as serum haemoglobin (Hb) levels were collected for all patients. Primary outcomes were collected on postoperative day 1: serum Hb, knee flexion range of motion (°), ambulation distance (m), and rest and ambulatory pain visual analogue scales (VAS) between 0 (no pain) and 10 (worst pain) were collected. All patients were inpatient during primary outcome data collection. Secondary outcomes included: Oxford Knee Score (0-48, higher is better), American Knee Society Score (0-100, higher is better), and SF-36 Score (0-100, higher is better), collected pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively.

Timeline

Start

2024-01-01

Primary completion

2024-08-30

Completion

2025-12-30

Publications

• Background Liu CH, Chang CH, Chang YH, Shih HN, Hu CC. Topical Fibrin Sealant (Tisseel@) Does Not Provide a Synergic Blood-Conservation Effect with Tranexamic Acid in Total Knee Arthroplasty-A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial. Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Nov 26;59(12):2078. doi: 10.3390/medicina59122078.
• Background Li J, Li HB, Zhai XC, Qin-Lei, Jiang XQ, Zhang ZH. Topical use of topical fibrin sealant can reduce the need for transfusion, total blood loss and the volume of drainage in total knee and hip arthroplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 1489 patients. Int J Surg. 2016 Dec;36(Pt A):127-137. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.10.022. Epub 2016 Oct 20.
• Background Gao F, Ma J, Sun W, Guo W, Li Z, Wang W. Topical fibrin sealant versus intravenous tranexamic acid for reducing blood loss following total knee arthroplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Surg. 2016 Aug;32:31-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.06.009. Epub 2016 Jun 16.
• Background Abdel MP, Chalmers BP, Taunton MJ, Pagnano MW, Trousdale RT, Sierra RJ, Lee YY, Boettner F, Su EP, Haas SB, Figgie MP, Mayman DJ. Intravenous Versus Topical Tranexamic Acid in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Both Effective in a Randomized Clinical Trial of 640 Patients. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2018 Jun 20;100(12):1023-1029. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.17.00908.

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